12 Signs You’ve Been Best Friends Since High School

Have you and your buddy been best friends since high school? Knowing each other so long makes for an interesting friendship. You know everything about each other, including all of the most embarrassing secrets, and yet you still love each other unconditionally.

Check out these 12 signs that you’ve been best friends since high school.

1. You know each other’s most embarrassing moments

Your most intimate, horrible, embarrassing secrets that make you cringe when you think about them – your best friend knows them all, and they don’t judge you for them. That’s mainly because you know all of their embarrassing secrets, too.

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2. You are always laughing at in-jokes that no one else gets

If you two hang out with someone else, they are subjected to listening to you spout in-jokes constantly. It is pretty annoying for all of your other friends, but you’ll never stop laughing at the hilarious memories – even if no one else understands.

3. You dislike the same people

If your best friend has an enemy, that person is automatically your enemy. You trust your best friend’s judgement, so if they don’t like someone, there is probably a good reason for that. If someone messes with one of you, they are actually messing with both of you – that’s real friendship.

4. You feel totally comfortable with each other

Whether you are marathoning Orange Is The New Black in bed or making dinner together, you always feel fully comfortable and relaxed around each other. Even if you are wearing your ugliest jogging bottoms and you haven’t washed your hair for days, you still don’t feel judged — and you would never judge your best friend for doing the same.

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5. You always know when your best friend is upset

You can always tell when you’re best friend is down, even just by reading their text messages. Only one heart emoji? Something is definitely up.

6. You both love to reminisce about the past

Lots of your conversations with your best friend start with “remember when…” Other people don’t care about the crazy week you two spent in Spain, but you just had to be there to get it.

7. You have hundreds of terrible pictures of each other

Your best friend has hundreds of embarrassing photos of you, including the emo Myspace ones that you wish would disappear from existence. In the wrong hands, this could be a disaster, but you know your best friend will keep them private – they exist only for a laugh now and then.

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8. You know your best friend’s family well

You’re pretty close to your best friend’s family, mainly because all of the awkward high-school times when you had to ring their landline and ended up talking to their mom. Of course, there’s also all of the times you stayed at their house for dinner – grandma makes an awesome lasagne. You’re even Facebook friends with their dad.

9. You’re always honest with each other

If you are considering buying a new outfit, you always go to your best friend for advice. You know they are the only person who will be totally, 100 per cent honest with you. If it doesn’t suit you, they will definitely let you know, and you really appreciate having someone that honest in your life.

10. You “Like” everything they post on social media

Any status update, picture, or video they upload will automatically get a “like” from you – it’s just the best friend thing to do.

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11. You talk to each other all the time

Over the phone, texting, Facebook messenger, and in person — you and your best friend are pretty much communicating 24/7. You don’t even say “hi” anymore, you just get straight to the point of the story.

12. You always have each other’s back

If your best friend is feeling ill, sad, or angry, you are always the one there for them, and you know they would do the same for you. Whatever life throws at you, you know you’re in it together.

Can you think of any other signs that you’ve been best friends since high school? Comment your ideas below!

7 Ways To Deal With Negative People

Some people will have a rain cloud hanging over them, no matter what the weather is outside. Their negative attitude is toxic to your own moods, and you probably feel like there is little you can do about it.

But that couldn’t be farther from the truth.

If you want to effectively deal with negative people and be a champion of positivity, then your best route is to take definite action through some of the steps below.

1. Limit the time you spend with them.

First, let’s get this out of the way. You can be more positive than a cartoon sponge, but even your enthusiasm has a chance of being afflicted by the constant negativity of a friend.

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In fact, negativity has been proven to damage your health physically, making you vulnerable to high levels of stress and even cardiac disease. There’s no reason to get hurt because of someone else’s bad mood.

Though this may be a little tricky depending on your situation, working to spend slightly less time around negative people will keep your own spirits from slipping as well.

2. Speak up for yourself.

Don’t just absorb the comments that you are being bombarded with, especially if they are about you. It’s wise to be quick to listen and slow to speak, but being too quiet can give the person the impression that you are accepting what’s being said.

3. Don’t pretend that their behavior is “OK.”

This is an easy trap to fall into. Point out to the person that their constant negativity isn’t a good thing. We don’t want to do this because it’s far easier to let someone sit in their woes, and we’d rather just stay out of it.

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But if you want the best for this person, avoid giving the false impression that their negativity is normal.

4. Don’t make their problems your problems.

Though I consider empathy a gift, it can be a dangerous thing. When we hear the complaints of a friend or family member, we typically start to take on their burdens with them.

This is a bad habit to get into, especially if this is a person who is almost exclusively negative. These types of people are prone to embellishing and altering a story in order to gain sympathy.

Why else would they be sharing this with you?

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5. Change the subject.

When you suspect that a conversation is starting to take a turn for the negative, be a champion of positivity by changing the subject. Of course, you have to do this without ignoring what the other person said.

Acknowledge their comment, but move the conversation forward before the euphoric pleasure gained from complaining takes hold of either of you.

6. Talk about solutions, not problems.

Sometimes, changing the subject isn’t an option if you want to deal with negative people, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still be positive.

I know that when someone begins dumping complaints on me, I have a hard time knowing exactly what to say. The key is to measure your responses as solution-based.

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You can do this by asking questions like, “Well, how could this be resolved?” or, “How do you think they feel about it?”

Use discernment to find an appropriate response that will help your friend manage their perspectives.

7. Leave them behind.

Sadly, there are times when we have to move on without these friends, especially if you have exhausted your best efforts toward building a positive relationship.

If this person is a family member, you can still have a functioning relationship with them, of course, but you may still have to limit the influence they have over your wellbeing.

That being said, what are some steps you’ve taken to deal with negative people? Let us know in the comments.